NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: The Desert Ruins
Once he got himself settled in his room, Cathal left the building after informing Tamara he was going out to check the detail of his quest with the requester. Walking around town with the quest's paper in hand, Cathal asked around for a bit until he was redirected towards a house located closer to the desert, in the outskirts of Morgate Town.
Knocking on the door, Cathal called out the name of the requester.
"Mr. Sambo?" Cathal called. "I'm here in the name of Fairy Tail to clear your subjugation request!"
"Going, going!" A voice answered calmly from inside the house. Then the door opened, showing a man around his fifties, with mostly whitened hair. "Come in, come in, don't mind being polite."
"Excuse me then." Said Cathal while entering the house. "I would like to know a bit more about the subjugation quest, things like the area, the amount of monsters, and so on."
"Sure, sure." Sambo said before looking at Cathal carefully. "I would like to say you are too young, but I've seen even younger kids taking quests, so don't take offence for my needless worrying."
"Please, sir, it's not a problem." Cathal said, a smile ever-present in his face. He quite liked the way this Mr. Sambo managed himself.
"So, about the request..." Sambo started speaking, his tone a bit more serious, matching the contents of their conversation. "I am an archaeologist by profession, and I discovered some ancient ruins in the desert. It looked like a sort of temple to worship someone or something. As you know, curiosity killed the cat. I touched a pedestal in the center of the temple and... well, let's just say that a dozen or so golems appeared out of nowhere, forming from the dust and rocks of the temple. I was lucky enough to be able to run away, but the golems remained in the temple. In order to continue studying the temple, I need someone to get rid of the golems."
"Okay, that was a good summary." Cathal said, analysing the information he had just acquired. Then he took out a map and opened it on the table. "Could you mark the general area where the temple is?"
"It's around here, towards the east." Sambo answered while placing his finger right before the mountain range that spanned across the Forgotten Deserts. "It's right on the foot of the mountain range."
"Very well, then." Said Cathal before closing the map. "I will head out there tomorrow morning. For today, I would like to rest."
"I am in no hurry, so take your time, young man." Sambo answered.
With the conversation over, Cathal said his goodbye and left Mr. Sambo's house. heading straight back to 'Lone Rider'. Once there, he went back to his room and started arranging the supplies he would need. The following day was going to be a busy one.
*
Later that day, Cathal went downstairs in order to have dinner. Much to his dismay, he had actually fallen asleep somewhere close to evening and only woke up well into the night. He was very sure that he had missed dinner and was hopeful that Tamara had actually saved some food for him. As soon as he arrived downstairs, he was greeted by Mr. Pomme.
"Look who it is! If it isn't our little mage." He said jokingly, amused at Cathal's half-asleep state. "Ye might want ta do something 'bout that hair young'un."
Cathal immediately tried to set his hair down, only to notice that it already was. Then he looked accusingly at Mr. Pomme, who cackled like there was no tomorrow.
"Oh, excuse me foolishness, Cathal." He finally said. "Me Tammy is waiting fer ye at the back. She does good on 'er word."
"Thanks, Mr. Pomme." Cathal said before heading towards the back. There, he saw Tamara waiting for him with a pot of stew that looked to still be very hot. "Tammy, thank you so much. You didn't have to bother keeping the food hot."
"Please, I did it because I wanted to." She answered. "Besides, I-I haven't eaten yet so... I wondered if you wouldn't mind having dinner t-together?"
"O-Of course not!" Cathal said hurriedly, before realizing his emotions were out in the open. "I mean, I don't mind, really."
That brought a chuckle out of Tamara, who quickly set two plates on the table and grabbed cutlery for the two of them.
"So, what's in the stew?" Cathal asked, trying to sound casual.
"Lamb, potatoes, a smashed tomato, bay leaves, oregano, pepper, a pinch of salt..." Tamara started listing the ingredients used in the stew one by one, which picked Cathal's attention immediately while he ate.
"Did you make it yourself? It's delicious" Cathal commented. He noticed how Tamara's cheeks turned slightly rosy, but decided to make no comment on that.
"Y-Yeah... I'm really happy you like it." She answered, turning silent very quickly. Before too long had passed in silence, she asked a question herself. "What about your quest? Can you share anything?"
"Well... apparently there are some ruins by the desert..."
Like that, the two teens spent the night talking over dinner. By the time they finished eating, everyone had already left the 'Lone Rider' or gone to their rooms, only Mrs. Pomme had stayed up, waiting for the two of them. With a quick goodbye and a thank you to Tamara for the food, Cathal went straight to his room and threw himself on his bed. That night had felt... magical, somehow.
Not much later, he had fallen asleep, still listening to Tamara's soft and sweet voice in his mind.
*
The following morning, Cathal left 'Lone Rider' after saying goodbye to the Pomme family, letting them know he might not be coming back that same night. Standing in the eastern exit of the village, he was now facing the Forgotten Deserts.
Before him, an infinite expanse of sand dunes made itself known, the howling of the wind the only thing he could hear and the occasional cactus his only company.
"I would rather not spend much time here... while I enjoy travelling, there isn't much to see in the desert." Cathal said, activating his magic power. "Volt Soul."
Transforming into Volt, Cathal overcharged his system with electricity and started running faster than a car could move in his previous life. At the pace he was going, he was sure he would reach the ruins before the afternoon, giving himself more than enough time to deal with his quest.
Only two hours later, Cathal had already reached the entrance to the desert ruins Sambo had told him about. But his face was anything but happy about reaching his destination.
"What the f-ck?!" Cathal exclaimed upon seeing the 'temple' that stood before him.
A circular structure, at least twenty meters tall, made of a white material ornamented in gold accents. It was a structure that Cathal had seen before, and a style of architecture he knew extremely well. Orokin.
"Oh god no." Was the only thing Cathal could say. As if to make matters worse, his system reacted for the first time.
[Warframe detected nearby. Quest generated.]
[Quest: Defeat the nearby Warframe in order to acquire its soul for your Take Over Magic.
Rewards: New Warframe.
Time Limit: N/A]
"At least there is no time limit... I'm certainly not ready to fight a Warframe." Cathal said. Then he released a sigh and started slowly walking towards the ruins, keeping his Volt Soul up. "I'm so fucked..."
-------------
Hello guys! Author here. What Frame do you think he'll find? It should be very obvious if you think about it. Also, yes, I'm pushing the OCxOC. Leave your comment, power stones and a review while I'm still asking nicely! I don't want to have to rob you!